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Two sites proposed for a hygiene and homeless service center are just 200 paces apart, but deciding which location is best has divided a City Council committee and two neighborhoods.

Yesterday, the Seattle City Council's housing and human services committee voted 4-2 in favor of placing the center in the Morrison Hotel at Third Avenue and Yesler Way in Pioneer Square, despite concerns expressed by residents and business owners there

Last fall, Mayor Greg Nickels proposed spending $3.2 million to build the hygiene center and day shelter in conjunction with the Emergency Operations Center campus just a block away, at Fourth Avenue and Yesler, closer to the Chinatown-International District.

Residents there also complained, saying their neighborhood had already absorbed more than its fair share of city facilities. They also said they were left out of the process to choose the site.

Councilwoman Jan Drago noted that the council has wanted the hygiene center and services for years, but Nickels was the first mayor to put money in the budget.

However, some council members raised concerns about the high cost of the facility proposed by the mayor, the potential security risk to the command center, and whether the space would be big enough.

Councilman Tom Rasmussen launched a search for an alternate site. He said a main goal is to have homeless services at the site, not to simply refer people to other locations.

Council members supporting the Morrison Hotel choice said services would be available sooner and potentially serve more people.

The Morrison Hotel, which is undergoing renovation, already has a 200-bed emergency shelter for men and women and provides services for those with drug and alcohol problems.

Pioneer Square residents said yesterday that their neighborhood plan bans additional social services in the neighborhood until street crime and uncivil behavior are controlled.

But Bill Hobson, director of the Downtown Emergency Service Center, which runs the Morrison Hotel, said he views adding the services to his agency as a resumption of services that were lost 28 months ago when remodeling started at the Morrison.

Hobson said in the past, his agency saw about 500 people a day, but about 250 people were displaced with the remodeling.

"They went on the streets, into the parks and other places," said Hobson. He said his agency works to get homeless people into more long-term housing.

"I share the concerns of people in Pioneer Square, I know some feel embattled," Hobson said.

A third location, at a community center being planned in Belltown, was also considered.